Joseph Bologne, Chevalier de Saint-George(s) (/bəˈloʊn/; French: [ʒozɛf bɔlɔɲ]; 25 December 1745 – 9 June 1799) was a French violinist, conductor, composer and soldier. Moreover, he demonstrated excellence as a fencer, an athlete, and an accomplished dancer. His historical significance lies in his distinctive background as a biracial free man of color. Bologne was the first classical composer of African descent to attain widespread acclaim in European music. He composed an array of violin concertos, string quartets, sinfonia concertantes, violin duets, sonatas, two symphonies, and an assortment of stage works, notably opéra comique.

Born in the French colony of Guadeloupe, his father, Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges, was a wealthy, white plantation owner, while his mother was one of the Creole people Georges kept enslaved. At the age of seven, he was taken to France where he began his formal education. As a young man he won a fencing contest leading to his appointment as a "gendarme de la garde du roi" by king Louis XVI. Having received music and musical composition lessons, he joined the orchestra Le Concert des Amateurs; culminating in his appointment as its conductor in 1773.

In 1776, Saint-Georges began conducting the Paris Opera. However, this prospect was thwarted by opposition from certain performers who resisted the idea of being led by an individual of color. Around this time, he shifted his focus to composing operas. In 1781, he joined a new orchestra Le Concert de la Loge Olympique. By 1785, he had stopped composing instrumental works altogether.

Following the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789, Saint-Georges left for England. Upon his return to France, he joined the National Guard in Lille and then served as a colonel in the Légion St.-Georges, which comprised "citizens of color". His social and professional ties to prominent figures such as Marie Antoinette and the Duke of Orléans made him a target of the Reign of Terror, culminating in a period of imprisonment spanning at least eleven months.

Saint-Georges, a contemporary of Mozart, has at times been called the "Black Mozart." Some have criticized this appellation as racist, but others have used it to champion Saint-Georges; the violinist Randall Goosby said, “I prefer to think of Mozart as the white Chevalier."

Chevalier de Saint-Georges, also known as Joseph Bologne or Joseph Boulogne, was born on 25 December 1745 in Baillif, Basse-Terre, the illegitimate son of a settler and planter and enslaver Georges Bologne de Saint-Georges and Nanon, a 17-year-old enslaved African who served within the family household. Bologne was legally married to Elisabeth Mérican (1722–1801), but acknowledged his son by Nanon and gave him his surname.

In 1747, Georges Bologne was accused of murder and fled to France. The next year he was visited by his wife, Nanon, and his son, Joseph. After two years Georges was granted a royal pardon and returned to Guadeloupe. In August 1753, Joseph aged seven, was taken to France for his education, and installed in a Jesuit boarding school in Angoulême so his uncle Pierre could keep an eye on him. The Bologne couple accompanied by his mother, Nanon, returned to Guadeloupe. Two years later, on 26 August 1755, listed as passengers on the ship L'Aimable Rose, Bologne de Saint-Georges and only Nanon landed in Bordeaux. Reunited with their son Joseph, they moved into a spacious apartment in the 6th Arrondissement (Rive Gauche).

At the age of 13, Joseph was enrolled in a private fencing academy run by Texier de La Boëssière in Rue Saint-Honoré across from the Oratoire du Louvre, practising horse riding in the Salle du Manège. According to Antoine la Boëssière, son of the Master, "At 15 his progress was so rapid, that he was already beating the best swordsmen, and at 17 he developed the greatest speed imaginable." Bologne was still a student when he defeated Alexandre Picard, a fencing master in Rouen, who had been mocking him in public as "Boëssière's upstart mulatto". That match, bet on heavily by a public divided into partisans and opponents of slavery, was an important episode for Bologne. His father rewarded Joseph with a horse and buggy.